Chapter 45: The Stone Wasteland

[New Open Area: Sanctuary Valley]

[Area Map Exploration Rates: Forgotten Forest - 98%; Sunny Highlands - 65%; Sanctuary Valley - 1%]

Chu Jiu finally stepped foot into Sanctuary Valley.

Although this place was directly adjacent to the Sunny Highlands, the endless rain and fiercely thriving vegetation had never seeped into this valley.

Before his eyes lay nothing but bare stones, big and small. There was no sandy soil, and vegetation was scarce.

Occasionally, one or two short, creeping plants sprawled across the wasteland, stubbornly displaying a few tiny, grayish-green buds; from time to time, small, dusty animals flashed between the crevices of the rocks, quickly hiding away again.

On both sides of the valley were dark gray rock walls. Boulders on the rock walls were piled heavily upon one another, supporting each other in a bizarre, almost anti-physical manner. Whenever one could no longer hold its weight, it would rumble down to the base of the mountain amidst a thunderous crash, partly shattering into irregular stone spheres that blocked the path, and partly breaking into even more sharp-angled rocks.

This valley was truly unfavorable for human transit.

Fortunately, there was the marvelous mount known as the Dodo.

This large blue-gray bird, even in such a wilderness bristling with strange rocks, still held its head high and strode forward at a gallop.

When it encountered small gravel, it simply trotted right over it, completely ignoring it; when it met larger rocks, it would take a run-up and effortlessly leap across them.

On very rare occasions, when a gigantic boulder two or three meters high appeared ahead, the Dodo would lift its neck and let out a couple of "dodo" calls, signaling Chu Jiu and the others to sit tight and hold on. Then, it would take a few steps back, accelerate with a running start, kick off with both claws, and tuck in its legs to clear the blocking rock with a flawless, magnificent leap.

Chu Jiu once again praised from the bottom of his heart, "You're doing great, Dodo!"

If not for the Dodo, how much effort would have been wasted in the rocky desert wilderness of Sanctuary Valley!

After running like this for half a day, Chu Jiu arrived at his destination.

Most peculiarly, the crowns of these trees were only tiny tufts perched at the very top, their branches and leaves displaying a gradient of golden yellow and golden red. Viewed from afar, it looked as though the tree crowns had turned into flames, and the entire row of trees resembled a line of translucent, colorful candles.

Despite its massive body, this giant creature's movements were exceptionally agile, showing not the slightest trace of sluggishness.

He squatted down, hiding behind the vegetation as much as possible, and tossed a bamboo tube filled with [Bloodthirsty Bee Honey] into the river.

In Chinese folklore, there is a saying: "One sulfur, two nitrates, three charcoal," which means that by mixing sulfur, niter, and charcoal in this exact ratio, one can obtain primitive black powder.

After all, not only did it possess high defense, but it also boasted high attack, high agility, and considerable intelligence.

This time, the iron-armored placoderm wearing the hellish helmet burst out of the water and swallowed this section of the bamboo tube in one gulp.

A hearty meal.

Wind chimes tinkled. The bone-chilling cold wind instantly lost a fraction of its oppressive sternness.

Chu Jiu looked around and guessed what kind of place this was: a menacing torrent of magma had once erupted here, cooled down, and eventually formed this cold, desolate "riverbed."

The Dodo, having had a comfortable night's rest at the camp, happily carried the human and the cat toward the habitat of the [Sugarcane]—the [Watershed of Yesteryear].

……That being the case, Chu Jiu placed the vase right beside his straw mattress.

"Don't be afraid. I'll turn this place into a warm and cozy camp."

As for Chu Jiu himself, he set up a frying pan over the campfire, preparing to make honey-roasted chestnuts.

Chu Jiu guessed the little hamster wanted to say: No way, I still have to lead the way.

Having gathered these two materials, Chu Jiu decided to make camp immediately and formulate the [Black Powder] as soon as possible.

Even beneath the dazzling sunlight, this dark, hard mountain body and these barren rock walls made the mountain appear exceptionally gloomy.

No special stat-boosting materials were used, but the final result was unexpectedly harmonious and unexpectedly calming to the mind.

Chu Jiu walked over to the Dodo, signaled it to lower its neck, and gently stroked its head:

The water surface churned violently again shortly after. Presumably, the placoderm had already tasted the sweetness of success.

Five minutes later, an off-white yurt materialized out of thin air in the dark gray river, resembling a lotus flower quietly blooming.

However, Chu Jiu was slightly surprised: although Little Canned Food was very good to all the other little companions, it usually wasn't particularly close to any single spirit beast.

Besides sulfur, he circled the base of the mountain twice and found another good thing: [Volcanic Ash].

The campfire crackled, instantly injecting a touch of vitality into this silence.

*

It is said that these bony plates can even be forged like metal into specially crafted, ultra-high-hardness weapons! What kind of anti-biological-common-sense bone plates were these?

Beneath his feet lay nothing but twisted black rocks. These rocks cascaded down the mountain like ropes of giant beasts, entwining themselves one by one at the foot of the mountain, rising and falling in uneven undulations.

Chu Jiu said, "This kind of tree is called the [Giggling Candle]. Its branches and leaves release a... a substance rumored to make people giggle incessantly."

Splendid!

The blue-gray giant bird that had carried Chu Jiu and Little Canned Food across many places and remained spirited throughout the journey stood in place and shuddered all over.

*

Passing through this row of [Giggling Candles], one could see densely packed, staggered ferns and the wide, slowly flowing "River of Yesteryear."

In truth, the numbers here did not literally mean "one catty of sulfur, two catties of niter, and three catties of charcoal." Relying solely on such a simple phrase, even if one happened to concoct gunpowder, its potency would fall far short of the ideal effect.

Chu Jiu pressed his lips together: Here it comes, the [Iron-Armored Placoderm].

"You can stay here and eat with us."

With the moon at its zenith, Chu Jiu let out a long breath of satisfaction, patted Little Canned Food's head, and said, "Go to sleep now. Tomorrow we'll see the results!"

Only then did Chu Jiu sit back down by the campfire to share dinner with Little Canned Food and the Dodo.

In reality, its head and lower torso were encased in several heavy bone plates. Even its four exposed sharp teeth were actually extensions of the anterior bone plates of its upper and lower jaws.

Chu Jiu guessed as much.

Before the word "sugarcane" could be fully spoken, the previously mirror-like calm river suddenly churned, and the water surface rippled violently—

Chu Jiu first opened the [Simple Yurt].

Yet Chu Jiu did not dare to rashly barge in.

This pale green juice might just possess a potency no less than that of black powder.

The slanting sun lingered on the mountain peak, and the evening glow cast upon the black rocks shimmered with flecks of gold.

Little Canned Food asked: "…Meow-hum?" — "Why are you wearing this?"

The tree trunk was straight, the bark as smooth as wax, and the surface color was a near-translucent pale green.

Little Canned Food tilted its head curiously: "Purple bamboo?"

The chestnuts went without saying; they were the highest-quality nuts sent by the chestnut sprites, with deep brown-purple skins, each one plump, round, and smooth.

Perhaps it hadn't fully understood. But Chu Jiu could sense that the giant bird was not as panicked as before.

The pale yellow, faintly glowing crystals among the rocks were the [Sulfur] he was looking for.

Amidst such mesmerizing light, the Dodo galloped across the desolate, uninhabited gravel ground.

Chu Jiu had no intention of recklessly climbing the mountain.

Chu Jiu pulled out another bamboo tube of honey and tossed it toward the upper reaches of the river.

Riding on the bird's back, Chu Jiu looked at the scenery and inexplicably felt an exceptional sense of peace.

It wasn't hard to understand why this placoderm was guarding the sugarcane forest.

As for the [Honey-Coated Specially Crafted Bamboo Tube Explosives] thrown by Chu Jiu, it caught every single one and swallowed them all into its belly.

A continuous series of muffled thuds—"boom, boom, boom"—the bamboo tube explosives took effect.

He half-leaned against the warm, fluffy belly of the Dodo, gazed at the starlit night sky above, and blissfully tossed a roasted chestnut into his mouth.

The system prompt was right.

On the opposite bank of the river stood a row of plants with pale purple outer skins.

Next...

Further up, layers of thick fog wrapped around the mountain waist, completely blocking his view. It was impossible to tell how tall the volcano was, nor whether there were other collectible materials higher up on the rock walls.

At the very beginning, the little hamster had clearly been terrified of Little Canned Food. No matter how hard Little Canned Food tried to paw at it, the little hamster would always fly far away to hide.

This kind of permission—no, this kind of initiative to let the little hamster sit on its shoulder was truly rare...

Little Canned Food rolled its tongue, sweeping the bright yellow chestnut meat into its mouth, and its mouth moved rapidly.

On the other side, Chu Jiu had already lit the campfire.

Even from a great distance, Chu Jiu could hear the "cawing" sounds coming from the jungle and catch sight of a few black shadows sweeping across the treetops.

Perhaps such a scene in itself was inherently comforting.

"Meow, meow-meow." — "Yeah, it's really sweet."

The chestnuts were washed clean, and a small slit was cut into their shells with a knife; a thin layer of oil was brushed into the frying pan, and the slit chestnuts were poured in to stir-fry for two minutes, after which clean water was added for simmering. Once the chestnuts all "popped open," water mixed with honey was added, and the stir-frying continued until the sauce reduced.

Very well, it was time to bring out the real deal.

At this moment, the Dodo had transformed into a thoroughly satisfied, well-fed, and carefree plump bird, no longer the lonely creature shivering in the cold wind, not knowing where to spend the night, as it had been moments ago.

Chu Jiu broke off another piece of chestnut meat and handed it to Little Canned Food: "Have a taste. It's very sweet."

He surveyed his surroundings—

Fortunately, the ratios Chu Jiu knew came from strict chemical equations. Black powder formulated according to the equations underwent the most complete reaction, possessed the strongest explosive power, and generated the highest heat.

He could only guess that Little Canned Food was saying: Come here.

It meowed at the little hamster twice more and even flicked its tail.

The Dodo let out a couple more calls.

Because of the mask, Little Canned Food's meows sounded muffled.

Chu Jiu retrieved six "bamboo tubes" from his backpack and swiftly ignited the exposed fuses.

As he spoke, Chu Jiu made a cut on a [Giggling Candle] and began harvesting the [Tree sap that makes people laugh uncontrollably].

Right at that moment, a gust of wind blew from above the river course.